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Highland Hospital / Quality of Care / Pneumonia / Physician Board Certification
 

Physician Board Certification

At Highland Hospital, 100% of physicians who treat pneumonia patients are board certified.

A board-certified physician has completed an approved educational training program and an evaluation process including an examination designed to assess the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to provide quality patient care in that specialty. A specialty certificate is issued by a medical specialty certifying board, which is valid nationwide. Although certification is not required for an individual physician to practice medicine, most hospitals and managed care organizations require that at least a certain percentage of their staff are “board certified.” Today approximately 89 percent of licensed physicians are certified by one or more ABMS Member Boards (American Board of Medical Specialties).

There are many specialists included in the care of patients with pneumonia, including those in: emergency medicine, internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, infectious diseases, and critical care medicine. Each of these may be certified by a member board in their specialty.

Many people who have pneumonia are often initially treated by a physician specializing in emergency medicine, then by an internist or pulmonologist.

If there are questions about the origin of the infection or how to best treat it, then an infectious disease specialist may also be consulted. Critical care medicine physicians may be responsible for coordinating care in the intensive care unit setting if this level of care is needed. Other specialists may consult for pneumonia patients who have additional medical conditions or situations requiring specialized knowledge and skill.